| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gehan Dixon Mendis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 April 1955 Colombo, Ceylon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Opening batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1985 | Sussex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1993 | Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:CricketArchive,15 March 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gehan Dixon Mendis (born 24 April 1955) is a former cricketer who was an opening batsman for Sussex and Lancashire between 1974 and 1993. He was part of the Lancashire team that won the 1990 Benson &Hedges Cup and 1990 NatWest Trophy. Mendis scored over 21,000 runs in his first-class career. [1]
As a youngster,Mendis represented the Sussex Young Cricketers,England Schools Cricket Association,and National Association of Young Cricketers teams, [1] [2] and in 1974,Mendis played for Bede College as they won the British Colleges National Knockout Cup. [3] He made his first-class debut for Sussex in a 1974 County Championship match against Worcestershire at the Central Recreation Ground,Hastings. Mendis made one run in the match. [4] In 1977,Mendis was part of a Sussex team that lost to Ireland at Pagham;Mendis scored 42 in the first innings of the match. [5] [6] Mendis scored 1326 runs in the 1980 season,which was the first time that he had scored over 1000 runs in a season. During the season,Mendis scored two double centuries. [7] [8] In addition,he was the top scorer in the 1980 Gillette Cup with 296 runs from 4 innings,including two centuries. [9] Mendis scored 119 against Glamorgan and 141 against Warwickshire,both at the County Ground. [10] As a result,he was named the Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year for 1980. [11] In 1985,Mendis almost became the twelfth first-class cricketer to score five centuries in six innings;he was 96 not out when Sussex declared in a match against Hampshire. [12]
After 12 seasons with Sussex,Mendis joined Lancashire for the 1986 season. [1] [12] During his time at Lancashire,Mendis frequently practised in the nets with Wasim Akram. [13] In 1988,Mendis carried the bat in a match against Glamorgan at St Helen's,Swansea;Mendis scored 65* in Lancashire's second innings total of 163. [14] [15] In 1990,Mendis was part of the Lancashire team that won both the Benson &Hedges Cup and the NatWest Trophy. [16] He scored 180 runs in a match against Nottinghamshire at Southport. [17] The 1990 Natwest Trophy semi-final was played over three days,and Mendis batted throughout,scoring 121*,eventually receiving the man of the match award. [16] [18] In 1993,Mendis was given a benefit year by Lancashire. [1]
Mendis also appeared in a 1989 match for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Scotland at Glenpark. [19]
Mendis was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka),and his family emigrated to the United Kingdom when he was 12;as a result,he was eligible to play for either Sri Lanka or England,although he did not make international appearances for either. [1] As of 2015,he worked in Wilmslow,Cheshire as a teacher. [16] His nephew Alex Mendis has played for Sussex Second XI in the Second Eleven Championship between 2005 and 2006. [20]